So, two of my favorite horror writers are Stephen King, and Dean Koontz. One of the reasons I love them both so much is their ability to, at just the right moment, inject humor into a perfectly horrific situation.
An example of this comes from Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas: A cow explodes in a splashing, gory, mess, and the udder lands upside down on a fence post. Within the context of the scene, this is awful, and hysterical. I almost felt guilty for being amused by the visual. And yet it was so perfect.
I mention all of this because this week's winners both have that element of a humorous twist in them. The Tome and I found them both terrifically entertaining. I believe that book actually chuckled. At least I THINK that's what that sound was. I'm still not certain.
Anyway, let's get to it, shall we?
In first place this week is Paul Richardson with Demonic Eye For The Straight Guy: First of all, the play on the title is hysterical. The character of Mestrious is perfectly realized and I really like your use of the prompts. Thank you!
And in second place is Zaiure with Prize: It was wonderful to see a strong female character with a mercenary attitude who remains likable. I'd love to see more of Anora in the future. Thank you!
And now, The Tome has offered new words.
Foxglove
Tableau
Garish
The usual rules apply: 100 words maximum, excluding the title, of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. All variants and use of the words as stems are fine.
You have until 11:30 PM EST on Thursday, October 31st, to get your entries in.. Winners will be announced and new words will be posted by 11:30 PM on Friday, November 1st.
The Gates Are Open my friends. Take what the Tome has offered and craft your nightmares into reality!